Immediate Family

About Guðrøðr Magnússon, King of Mann and the Isles

Godred VI Magnuson, King of Mann and the Isles

He was briefly King of Mann and the Isles in 1275. Godred was the son and heir of King Magnus and his wife Mary of Argyll. His father's realm having been annexed at his death in 1265, he tried to re-establish the family throne, but failed.

Alexander III of Scotland had initiated hostilities which terminated after the indecisive outcome of the Battle of Largs in 1263. Following the battle the Norwegian fleet was forced by the seasonal weather to withdraw to Orkney, leaving the Scots in command of the contested areas. Following the death of the warlike King Haakon IV in Kirkwall the more peaceful Magnus VI of Norway assumed the throne. The following negotiations saw the Scots gaining great concessions. Magnus, King of Mann and the Isles (reigned 1252–1265), who had fought on the Norwegian side, had to surrender all the islands over which he had ruled, except Mann, for which he did homage to Alexander. Two years later Magnus died and in 1266 King Magnus VI ceded the islands, including Mann, to Scotland in the Treaty of Perth in consideration of the sum of 4,000 marks (known as "merks" in Scotland) and an annuity of 100 marks. But Scotland's rule over Mann did not become firmly established until 1275, when the Manx led by Godred suffered defeat in the decisive Battle of Ronaldsway, near Castletown.